Vietnam Holds Days of Mourning for Late Communist Party Chief Nguyen Phu Trong

Vietnam began its two-day state funeral for Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, whose death last Friday signaled a new era in the nation’s political power structure.

The ceremonies, which are drawing global dignitaries including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Hanoi, began early Thursday morning with hundreds of Vietnamese lining up at a funeral hall to pay respects to Trong.

Entertainment events, from concerts to movies, have been canceled for two days as Vietnamese expressed sorrow in online posts for the 80-year-old leader who died before completing a rare third term as general secretary of the party. The Hanoi funeral is being broadcast live across the nation, with Ho Chi Minh City and provinces holding mourning ceremonies.

Trong was viewed as the nation’s most powerful leader, whose legacy includes overseeing Vietnam’s emergence as a global electronics supplier and spearheading an years-long anti-corruption campaign that snared top officials and business leaders.

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Only a day before his death, the party’s Politburo tapped President To Lam to become the interim leader due to Trong’s failing health.

Security has been heightened across the country, with soldiers patrolling areas deemed sensitive, from the nation’s commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City to the capital Hanoi. 

Trong will be buried Friday afternoon in Hanoi’s Mai Dich Cemetery, the resting place of military heroes, scientists, politburo members and late party chiefs Le Kha Phieu and Le Duan.